The Will of a Wizard
by krysta-durin
Summary: When Frodo volunteers to take the One Ring of Power to the fires of Orodruin in Mordor, Gandalf is reminded of another Hobbit who risked his life to resist the powers of evil. One-shot, based on the Council of the Ring (Fellowship of the Ring) and a scene in The Battle of the Five Armies (therefore there may be spoilers if you have not yet watched the movie). Angst and friendship.


**Hi all! This is a super quick one-shot that I've had in mind all morning, and I couldn't wait to upload it! In saying that, if I have made any mistakes, please let me know. Everything belongs to J.R.R Tolkien and Peter Jackson. In the wake of all of the feelings from BOTFA, I have a few more one-shots that I would like to post before I get back into my main OC fanfiction. I've seen the movie four times now and it still kills me each time :( Anyway, enjoy this super short story!**

* * *

><p>"I will take it! I will take the ring to Mordor!" Frodo cried, his voice only just able to draw the attention of those within the Council, though not for their strength, but for the content of what the young Hobbit was saying.<p>

Gandalf dropped his head low, realising that he didn't need to turn and face Frodo to know the determination that sparked within the tiny creature. It was a determination that he had seen before, in the most unlikely of places.

His memory shifted to an entirely different war that raged sixty years earlier, though one that was just the same in many ways. He had been standing inside the ruins of Dale, desperately trying to convince a stubborn Elven King to send help to the company of Thorin Oakenshield.

"I have spilled enough Elvish blood in defence of this accursed land. No more!" King Thranduil spoke, his voice taking on a slight edge as he looked to the ground to see his fallen kin. Gandalf had stood there, desperation filling his entire being, when a quiet, yet determined voice spoke from behind him.

"I will go." Gandalf turned to look at the Hobbit, a battle-worn Bilbo Baggins, who had travelled further from home than any Hobbit should dare to stray.

"You will never make it!" Gandalf cried, moving closer to the Hobbit. He could see the splatters of dark blood across his face and the many rips and cuts in his coat, but more than anything, he could see Bilbo's own desperation sparkling in his eyes. Gandalf could see the hurt and the anxiety there, all too easy to identify.

"Why not?" Bilbo asked solemnly.

"Because they will see you coming and kill you!" Gandalf could not allow any harm to come to his burglar; to his friend. He had risked Bilbo's life one too many times, and it was not another risk he was willing to take. Though, as Bilbo spoke his next words, even Gandalf begun to see that no power in the world of the Valar would stop the Hobbit from saving his friends.

"It's out of the question! I won't allow it."

"I'm not asking you to allow it, Gandalf." There was an almost apologetic look in Bilbo's eyes, before it was quickly replaced with a blazing determination. He turned quickly and shot off, leaving Gandalf with the overwhelming feeling of dread, the inkling within his mind that he may have just sent Bilbo to his grave.

And here Gandalf stood once more, the responsibility of the life of a Hobbit weighing on his shoulders. He had brought him into this, pushing Frodo out of the door as he had done for his Uncle those years ago. While Bilbo returned home after his adventure, he had returned not the same. It wasn't just the One Ring that Gandalf knew had changed the Hobbit, but it was the death of Thorin Oakenshield, the closest friend that Bilbo had, that had forever left its mark on him.

But what of Frodo? Turning around, the déjà vu thickly filling Gandalf's mind as though it were some dark magic, he saw Frodo standing as Bilbo once did, with determination sparking within his eyes and within his being.

He would not be able to change his mind, even if he were to try. Frodo was, of course, the closest living kin to Bilbo, and the differences between the two only ended at looks. Both were stubborn and determined and completely surprising for Shire Folk.

"Though.. I do not know the way." Frodo hesitantly spoke once more, as though he were embarrassed by the information that he just shared with the many within the Council of the Ring.

Gandalf straightened up, resolution forming within his own mind. He would not sit idly by while Frodo took it upon himself to destroy the One Ring, and protect the Free Lands of Middle Earth. He would not allow Frodo to go alone in the task of defeating evil, as he once allowed his Uncle to do. He would protect this Hobbit for as long as the Valar granted him.

"I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins. For as long as it is yours to bear."


End file.
